20 Interesting Facts About Love That Make Your Heart Smile

1. Monogamous Relationships Exist Throughout The Animal Kingdom

Image credits: Vesna Zivcic, EssjayNZ

Even though we often think of ourselves as a faithful species, we’re not the only ones in the animal kingdom. Wolves, gibbons, and 90% of bird species are just a few of those animals that find a mate for a lifetime. These animals that mate for life act similarly to humankind.

2. It Only Takes Up A Fifth Of A Second To Decide Whether You Like Someone Or Not

Image credits: Kristina Фотограф в Мексике

If you want to make a good impression on the love of your life, you only have a fifth of a second to do it. It is believed to have far more to do with your body language, tone, and voice speed than exactly what you say.

3. When Two Lovers Gaze At Each Other’s Eyes, Their Heart Rates Synchronize

Image credits: Alexander Khokhlov

Some extraordinary research has found that couples who are in love and bond in a romantic relationship synchronize their heart rates after gazing into each other’s eyes for three minutes.

4. Falling In Love Has Neurological Effects Similar To Those Of Cocaine

Image credits: Jeremiah Kuehne

Falling in love is much like taking a dose of cocaine, as both experiences affect the brain similarly and trigger a similar sensation of euphoria. The research found that falling in love produces several euphoria-inducing chemicals that stimulate 12 areas of the brain at the same time.

5. Cuddling Releases Natural Painkillers

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Oxytocin, the so-called love hormone, is produced during an embrace or cuddle. The hormone appears in the brain, ovaries, and testicles, as it’s thought to be involved in the bonding process. Research has found that a dose of Oxytocin decreases headaches significantly. For some, it even makes the pain disappear entirely after 4 hours. 

What about long-distance relationships? Of course, this kind of relationship could bring more challenges because of the absence of Oxytocin. On the other hand, don’t forget it’s definitely worth trying hug and cuddle medicine before jumping to chemicals and pills.

6. Even Looking At A Picture Of A Loved One Relieves The Pain

Image credits: Benoit Courti

Even though it was long known that the presence of a significant other has a lot to do with patients’ improvement, it has been proved that the same goes for even a picture of the beloved.

The experiment showed that when experiencing pain, study participants exposed to pictures of their beloved and distracting word games had their pain reduced far more than those exposed to the same distracting word games and pictures of acquaintances.

7. People At The Same Level Of Attractiveness Are More Likely To End Up Together

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Many psychological and social research indicate a significant pattern in how people choose people to establish romantic relationships with. 

This pattern is explained by the Matching Hypothesis, which says that people are more attracted to those with whom they share a level of attractiveness or, in other words, are equally socially desirable. Even if successful couples differ in physical attractiveness, one usually compensates for it with other socially desirable qualities.

8. Couples Who Are Too Similar To Each Other Are Not Likely To Last

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As the well-known saying goes, opposites attract. And research proves that this is partially true. Couples, either too similar or too different, tend not to last very long. Apparently, there always has to be a foundation of similarities. Still, there also have to be things the two of you learn from each other.

9. Heartbreak Is Not Just A Metaphor

Image credits: Rob Woodcox

Research has provided evidence that intense, traumatizing events, such as a breakup, divorce, loss of a loved one, physical separation from a loved one, or betrayal, can cause real physical pains in the area of one’s heart. 

This condition is called the Broken Heart Syndrome. Deep emotional distress triggers the brain to distribute certain chemicals that significantly weaken one’s heart, leading to strong chest pains and shortness of breath. The condition is often misdiagnosed as a heart attack and tends to affect women more often.

10. Romantic Love Eventually Ends… Only To Be Followed By Committed Love

Image credits: Rehahn Photography

If you have ever felt romantic love, you probably have noticed it from your own experience. At the very beginning of a romantic relationship, all couples experience love and lust, but they will be very different a year later. It is estimated that romantic, new love, linked with euphoria, dependence, sweaty palms, butterflies, etc., only lasts six months to two years. 

After that begins the so-called “committed love” stage, where we develop long-lasting and healthy relationships. This transition is linked with elevated neurotrophin protein levels in newly formed couples.

11. People Who Are In Love Have Chemical Similarities With People With OCD

Image credits: Enzo Perrazziello

The studies show that people at an early stage of love have lower serotonin levels, associated with feelings of happiness and well-being, and higher levels of cortisol, associated with stress. 

The levels of Serotonin transporters in the lovers and the Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder patients were significantly lower than those in the controls, suggesting that both romantic love and OCD are associated with a decrease in serotonin availability. 

This explains why we act so out of character when we fall for someone. It works the other way around as well—people with lower levels of serotonin fall in love and get into sexual relationships quicker than others.

12. Thinking Of Love And Sex Influences Creativity And Concrete Thinking, Respectively

The research based on the Construal Level Theory found that reminders of love influence more abstract and creative thinking because they are associated with more distant and abstract considerations—long-term relationships, devotion, commitment, and intimacy. Reminders of sex trigger concrete thinking, making a person focus more on momentary details than on long-term plans or goals.

13. Attachment + Caring + Intimacy = Perfect Love

Image credits: Nikolai Zinoviev

The Triangular Theory of Love suggests a clear formula for the components of different kinds of love. Three kinds of love are a product of two different pairs of basic components: romantic love = passion + intimacy, companionate love = intimacy + commitment, and fatuous love = passion + commitment. Of course, the truest and strongest of all is consummate love, which consists of all three components.

14. An Attractive Face Is Preferred Over An Attractive Body For Long-Term Relationships

Image credits: Thorbjørn Fessel

There’s evidence that when looking for a fling, the body wins over the face on a physical attraction basis. The opposite is true, however, for those who are looking for a long-term relationship partner.

15. Holding A Loved One’s Hand Relieves Pain And Stress

Image credits: Ricardo Miranda

The research shows that long-term couples with deep, strong connections can successfully soothe each other in stressful situations or when one experiences pain simply by holding hands.

16. Expressing Gratitude Towards People You Love Causes An Immediate Spike In Your Happiness

Image credits: Balaji Maheshwar

Without much talking, we’re suggesting you see the beautiful experiment in this video.

17. Butterflies In The Stomach Are Real, And They’re Actually Caused By Adrenaline

Image credits: Jack Wannemacher

When you fall for someone, you probably won’t be able to avoid the flying, fooling around, and dancing butterflies in your stomach. They’re caused by adrenaline, which floods your body during flight-or-fight response situations.

18. Dilated Pupils Show Your Attraction To Someone And Makes You More Attractive

Image credits: Andy Prokh

As early as the 1870s, Darwin proposed that pupils expand during heightened attention and focus. This is true, as it occurs when gazing at an object of desire or a beloved one, even if it‘s only a picture or a video. Moreover, people with dilated pupils themselves look more attractive.

19. Looking Into Each Other’s Eyes Can Make Strangers Fall In Love

The eyes are the mirrors of our souls, as they say, so there’s probably no surprise that simply looking into each others’ eyes can make us fall for each other, even if we don’t know Jack about each other.

It has been proven that when someone gazes at you for at least two minutes, their body produces a chemical called phenylethylamine, associated with the fight-or-flight response. So, if you continue looking at each other, you ask for Cupid’s arrow.

20. Love Is cReally All That Matters

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A marvelous 75-year study conducted by a group of Harvard researchers has shown that love really is all that matters. The participants’ lifelong experiences revealed that happiness and fulfillment revolved around love or simply searching for love.